Wanderlust
by Puppetmaster24
Summary: The Firefly crew are contacted by an ancient race, And they want them to rob the Alliance!
1. Wanderlust - Prologue

**Hello and thank you for reading my new Fanfic. I hope you enjoy, If you have any constructive criticism feel free to leave it in a review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own Firefly or Warhammer 40k.**

**Wanderlust**

**Prologue**

Farseer Odonata sat cross legged on a rock, the barren landscape of a young world stretched before her. The only life being the primitive, single celled organisms that swam carelessly through the primordial ooze. The land around her was bathed in the ruddy glow of the sun, it's light turned red by the worlds toxic atmosphere. The only reason she was not dead was the filters in her armour.

Looking down she cast the runes again. And for what felt like the hundredth time they again read death, and nothing but death. She and everyone who joined her were going to die. With a heavy sigh she stood up, her legs aching. She had come to this world to track down her sister, who had been possessed by a powerful daemon of Slaanesh. Odonata had promised herself she would track her down and put her out of her misery, even if it meant sacrificing her own life.

She turned to look at the five warlocks that usually made up her seer council. Their yellow cloaks resplendent against their blue armour. The symbol of the temple flame proudly showed their affiliation with the craftworld Iyanden She considered them all to be good friends and it hadn't surprised her that when she had asked them to join her on this quest, they had said yes. But she couldn't ask them to go to their deaths because of her.

She addressed them through the vox on her helmet "My friends. I can no longer ask you to follow me in my quest. If you do, you will not come back. If you were to turn around and leave, I would not blame you or feel any shame."

To her amazement. None of them left, nor did they show any sign they would leave. Her heart lifted at the sight. Knowing she would not be alone during the coming battle lifted her spirits.

"Steel yourselves. Even though we go to our deaths. I promise they will not be in vane."

She contemplated the message the runes had given her. She knew she would die. But she did not know she would succeed. The thought weighed heavily on her mind as she looked at the webway gate they had come through.

She walked up to it, warp energy arced between the two curved pillars that marked the sides of the gate. She looked over the runes used to control the raging energies it utilised. With a heavy sigh she activated the runes that locked the gate. Now, no one but her would be able to activate it. Unless they knew the most intimate secrets of webway gates. But she knew only the Harlequins were privy to such knowledge. Now even if she failed to banish the daemon, it would never escape this world.

Almost an hour later the party of six had tracked their quarry to the mouth of a long fissure, evidently caused by a geological upheaval long ago. Odonata could feel her prey as it stalked along the bottom of the cleft. She stepped of the edge of the cliff. the sensation of falling did not last long and she slammed into the floor with a heavy thud. It was joined by five more as the warlocks followed suite.

They all drew their swords and ran. The almost claustrophobic walls of the fissure soon gave way to reveal a wide, steep sided valley. Standing in the middle of which was a tall female figure. It stood naked, the toxic air casing no visible effect. It's purple skin glistened in the red light, a pair of long black horns protruded from her forehead through a shock of black hair.

Odonata didn't slow as she ran towards it her long witchblade began to glow with power. She felt the warlocks send power through their own blades, this in turn filled Odonata with confidence as they approached the daemon host. As they closed the gap the thing turned to them, the first warlock closed in and lifted his sword to strike. He brought it down in a glittering arc towards her neck.

But he hit nothing as she stepped to the side. With daemonic speed it grabbed his head a gave a sharp twist, the armour shattered under the brutal attack and he died instantly.

Odonata and the warlocks came to a sudden stop as they looked on in horror. Even with daemonic enhancements no Eldar would be able to perform such a feat.

It spoke to her with a voice like boiling pitch "Sister, why do you attack me?"

"You are no sister of mine beast." She spat back.

Odonata jumped forward bringing her blade round in a wide swing. The daemon jumped to the side out of the arc, but straight into range of a waiting warlock who plunged his blade into it's side. It screamed with pain and send it's arm out in a wild swing. The back of its hand just managed to catch the warlock in the head, his mask shattered under the brutal attack and soon he was chocking has last breaths in the poisonous atmosphere.

Odonata and the remaining warlocks were not downhearted by this. They knew they would all die, they also knew they would succeed in their mission to destroy the beast.

Buy Odonata realised swordplay was not going to win her the battle. Summoning her inner strength she flung a blot of pure energy at it. It hit the beast square in the chest sending it flying back. Before it had eve hit the floor Odonata and the remaining three warlocks ran forward brandishing their swords. But the daemon jumped up and with a sickening noise it pulled the witchblade from it's side and threw it at Odonata. She jumped to the side but the sword still struck her in the shoulder, sending her to the floor screaming in pain. She looked up, and even with her vision blurred with pain and blood loss she could still see the last three warlocks fight but ultimately die in the same brutal manner as their comrades.

The thing walked up to her and looked down with scorn. It leant down and wrenched the blade free from Odonata's shoulder, she screamed in pain as the sword was brutally removed. She felt her blood flow freely, coating the ground in red.

It lifted her up by her collar until their eyes were level "Now you die." It hissed "I will send your soul to Slaanesh."

"Never!" She screamed.

Odonata summoned the last of her waning strength to grab the sides of the beasts head. And with a desperate shout she sent all her power through her into the monster. It screamed a hellish noise as its head was simply melted under the psychic assault. It dropped Odonata as it continued to scream through a mouth that was no longer there. It's skin began to crackle and burn as it slowly lost it's grip on reality, literally.

It looked directly at her and spoke through her mind "You may have one this fight Eldar." Its skin began to glow with barely controlled energy.

"But this world will be your grave." It told her.

With a blinding flash that sent Odonata flying into the nearest rock face, the daemon exploded. Ripples of pure energy rolled through the canyon, blasting the rocks into dust. Odonata heard a sound like splintering wood as she saw the cliffs that edged the canyon fall inwards. She knew she would die, her body buried under tons of rock.

Her last thoughts were a simple prayer that her soul stone would be found, one day.

_5000 Years Later_

In the long years since her final conflict, Odonata's body had rotted away to dust, her armour had been ground to dust by the rocks around her. The only objects to survive the oppressive march of time were her witchblade, constructed from crystal grown by the bonesingers on her craftworld. But infinitely more important was her spirit stone. It had survived although the gold necklace it had been mounted in was smashed beyond recognition. The same was true of the five warlocks who had joined her.

But none of them were truly dead, their spirit stones had survived and so had they. The only sense they had was feeling the souls around them, and for five thousand years that had only been each other. So when Odonata felt three human souls approach she wasn't sure if she was terrified or relieved.

Harry, Pete and Ross had worked for Brokkr mining subsidiaries for almost eighteen years, but this was the first time they had been tasked with building a nuclear bunker. Brokkr had been contracted by Blue Sun to dig it out, and they had been told they were to close to a civilian centre to use explosives or even the heavy machinery they would normally use. So this had meant ten days of using hammers, pickaxes and other primitive and tiring to use equipment.

Pete had drawn the short straw today and as such it was his job to break up the wall in front of them. He held the rock breaker at chest level and trust it at the rock face. The hollow spike attacked to the device pierced the rock and deposited a small explosive. A few moments later it detonated with a small popping noise, sending hundreds chips of rock harmlessly to the floor. Pete picked up his shovel with a sigh and went about scooping the rock into the waiting wheel barrow that was being monitored by Harry.

Just as he was about to dump another shovel full of material into the barrow something caught his eye. He reached out and plucked it off of the floor. It was a gem. Large, round, purple and utterly beautiful.

"Watcha got there?" Asked Harry.

"Don't know." Answered Pete dreamily. He was utterly entranced by its beauty.

"Pete!" Shouted Harry, the concern for his friend evident in his voice.

"What?"

"You turn into a zombie or what?"

"Nah. It's just, look at this." Pete passed the gem to Harry. He held it up to the light from Pete's torch and his mouth fell open.

"How much do you think it's worth?" Asked Harry.

"I don't know. A lot." Pete took the gem back, handling it gently. Then an idea struck him, seemingly from nowhere.

"But I got a feeling there are more down here."

Almost five hours later Harry, Pete and Ross were looking down at five gems and six crystal swords. All of them were just as beautiful as the first gem they had found, which was now sitting in Pete's pocket. They had decided that selling one gem would make them all rich, so having two each was making them sick with happiness. Each of them had a grin like a child at Christmas.

But that euphoria was soon punctured by Harry's radio, from which emanated the voice of their foreman. A particularly annoying man named Philips. He spoke through the radio, his voice distorted by the weak signal.

"Boys. You were suppose to come out of there near half an hour ago. Do I need to send a rescue party or what?"

Harry grabbed the radio roughly, his annoyance clear for all to see "No Philips. We were just finishing up."

"Oh and by the way guys." Continued Philips "That bitch with the clipboard is up here. And she's got guys inspecting your gravel. She says she wants to see your gear as well." The radio clicked to signify the end of the conversation.

All three men swore very loudly. And they began the long walk back to the entrance to the tunnel. Along the way they spit balled ideas about how to get it passed the ''Bitch with the clipboard''. She was a bureaucrat from Blue Sun and she lived up to her nickname. Every so often she and a few men in white coats would descend and begin the process of annoying the crap out of all the men on site.

The three of them emerged blinking into the harsh light of midday. It took a few moments before their eyes adapted to the light. And much to their annoyance the bitch with the clipboard was walking up to them with a smile on her face, she had clearly seen the swords that were poking out the top of Franks wheelbarrow. She was tall, with long blonde hair and good looking enough to be a model. She was as usual wearing a suite that seemed to have been made to make her look good. And the worst part was, she knew how good she looked and used it as a weapon against the workers she had to deal with.

She spoke to them in a sexy yet very patronising voice "Well boys. I see you've found something very interesting."

Half an hour later they were each leaving the dig site with a check for a very large amount of money and the knowledge they would never have to work down that horrible sudo mineshaft again. But in Pete's pocket there sat a large purple gem, that he had simply "Forgotten" to mention.

But across the gulf of space, outside the very edge of the 'verse. An ageing Eldar heard the sound he had been hoping to hear for over five thousand years.

He activated the rune for the internal communication system and spoke to the captain of the ship he was on.

"Shar-seer. The time has come. Please call my daughter and bring us closer to the system. It is time to retrieve my mothers spirit stone."


	2. Wanderlust - Chapter 1

**Wanderlust**

**Chapter 1**

It had been said by many great men that space was the final frontier. And as every man of action knew, a frontier was a place of great danger but also great profit to anyone smart enough to handle the gunslingers and fierce natives. Whether Malcolm Reynolds was smart enough was a topic of lively debate amongst the crew of Serenity, With Zoe Washburne on his side. And everyone else not really giving a crap as long as they got fed and paid, Mal included in that bunch.

But getting fed and paid was a bit difficult when you've been avoiding civilisation. For the two months since the Miranda wave Serenity had been avoiding any place the Alliance might be looking for them. But the supplies they had taken from Mr Universes moon would only take them so far. And the crew of Serenity, being made up of fierce natives and gunslingers had decided to act like fierce natives and gunslingers, and rob someone.

The ship bucked and rocked as it hit the moons atmosphere, the underside of the hull glowing with the heat of re-entry.

"The ride isn't usually this rough." Commented Mal nervously.

"The air is a bit more soupy than usual." Said River. The seventeen year old girl had been part of Mal's crew for only two months, before that she had been a passenger.

"Soupy?" Asked Mal. It was moments like these he began to wonder if having a pilot prone to psychotic episodes was such a good idea.

"Soupy."

"Okay. We're gonna live right?"

"No."

"WHAT!"

"But we are going to land safely."

Mal didn't have anything to say to that. He was still recovering from his heart attack. All he did was pat her on the shoulder and wake carefully back through the ship, checking that nothing had or was about to fall over. Although if it had he wasn't sure he would care. He stepped out onto the gangway of the cargo hold. It rattled under foot, he should get Kaylee to have a look at that while he was out robbing people.

He looked down at Zoe and Jayne as they prepped their guns, or gun in the case of Zoe. As he walked down the stairs he inspected his own pistol. His faithful Liberty Hammer, the handle polished by almost constant use. Full clip. Nine rounds. He hoped he would actually come back with all nine this time.

"So what place we robbin this time?" Asked Jayne.

"Train station." Answered Zoe.

"Again."

"Not a train. A train station." Explained Mal "We got a wave from badger a couple weeks ago, sayin ther'd be a but load of purification tablets there. But almost no guard.

"We steal em. Sell em to folks who need em at a low but profitable price." Just for effect Mal added a wink.

"I'll get a smaller gun." Replied Jayne as walked out of the hold, removing the magazine from the machine pistol he wasn't taking with him.

Not half an hour later they were speeding across the flats on the mule. The shack that was the train station quickly getting larger as they went. It wasn't long before they were pulling up beside it and mooring up the hovering vehicle.

"Won't these pills be goin to people who need em sir?" Asked Zoe.

Mal looked around theatrically. There was a large amount of nothing for quite a large distance. Not even tumble weeds.

"Can't see who it would be going to." He answered honestly as he powered down the mule. "Now all we gotta do is wait for the train."

Simon walked through the now silent ship. Their was something unsettling about Serenity when she was on the ground, especially when she was nearly empty. Kaylee, Inara and his sister were all outside having a picnic at River's insistence. Simon stepped out into the bright mid-day sun, blinking as he did so. He looked around to see the three of them passing around tea cups and sandwiches. He sat down cross legged next to Kaylee who leaned over to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Does Mal know you're eating the last of the bread." He asked, still taking an offered sandwich.

"Would he care if he did?" Asked Inara.

"Probably not." Conceded Simon. "And River, what did you say to Mal that got him white as a sheet."

"He didn't take news of his own mortality well." She answered, rather spookily. She seemed to be more concerned with a particular point of the horizon than anything else. Including the teacup that she held in her left hand.

"So Simon. What have you been doing all morning." Asked Inara, changing the subject.

"Jayne ransacked the infirmary again." Sighed Simon "I think he was looking for a plaster."

"How do you know?" Asked Kaylee.

"Because he left bloody thumb prints on all the cabinets."

Then out of nowhere River jumped up and ran into Serenity. Simon looked in the direction she had been staring and saw a small plumb of dust. The kind that came from a hover car.

"Simon! Why are you still sitting there?!" Shouted River from inside Serenity.

Kaylee looked at the dust cloud through a pair of binoculars.

"It's Alliance." She announced.

As if stung by a bee Simon jumped up and into Serenity. He looked around and saw the smugglers hole was open, he assumed River was hiding in there and went to join her.

Just as Kaylee and Inara had finished packing up their picnic a large armoured car pulled up beside them. The side door opened and five Alliance troopers wielding sonic rifles. Followed by a young, peak capped sergeant. Both women could see he was nervous. He had probably been told he was apprehending dangerous criminals who would kill him as soon as look at him. They both knew only Jayne would do something like that.

"Is this the ship Serenity?" He asked, his voice cracking with nerves.

"What can we do you for?" Asked Kaylee in her usual chirpy manner. The fact she wasn't nervous and possibly even helpful put the sergeant visibly off kilter. Usually he was half way through a shouting match with the ships captain by this point.

"Uh, where is Captain Reynolds?"

"Gone to pick up some post." She answered with a smile.

He pulled out a small slip of paper and squinted at it for a few moments "Where is the first officer? A Zoe Washburn?"

"If you have a whole list of the crew I should save you some time by explaining they are all collecting post." Inara told him with a roll of her eyes.

"Ah leave him alone 'nara, It's clear this is his first time." Giggled Kaylee sending the now very flustered sergeant a deep shade of red.

He pulled out a large blue envelope and presented it to Kaylee. "This is a warrant to search your ship. If you do not comply I am within my rights to arrest you both."

Kaylee ripped open the envelope and quickly scanned the contents, a few moments later she found what she was looking for "Ah." She announced "It says here we have ten days to appeal."

"That is ten days from the time the warrant was announced at the capital. That was twelve days ago."

The announcement was met by a string of insults in various languages from both Inara and Kaylee as he waved in his men.

Mal sat in the mid-day sun and he could feel himself drifting off to sleep. The train was an hour late and counting.

A shadow fell across his face. It was the station master, a short, fat doddery old man who wouldn't look out of place running an antique store. He had already made all three of them two cups of tea, he had even given them biscuits. Mal was going to feel bad robbing him.

"Train should be here in few minutes." He told them in a thick scotch accent "Ye want another cup o tea?"

"No, but thanks." Mal yawned.

The man shrugged his shoulders and sloped of back into the building. Mal sat up with a groan. he spun round in his seat to look at Zoe, who wasn't asleep and looked _very _bored.

"I really hope we don't have to shoot that man." He commented.

"Yeah." She answered, not really looking at him.

Mal was about to ask Zoe if she was alright but he was distracted by the whistle of a train, which woke up Jayne.

"Is it time to rob people yet?" He yawned.

"Just about." Zoe told him as her eyes followed the heavy locomotive as it crested the hill.

"Shiny." He said pulling out a large silver pistol.

"Not yet." Mal told him firmly "If they see us with irons they ain't gonna pull it of the train." Jayne clicked the safety on and thrust it back into it's holster with a huff.

Mal jumped of the mule and gave orders as he did so "Zoe you stay with the mule. Jayne, you come with me." and he added as an after thought "And try not to kill the poor guy."

Jayne was the first to step into the gloom that was the station, which in actuality was little more than a glorified shed. The only illumination came from the beams of sunlight that penetrated through the poorly aligned slats that made up the walls. Other than the wood floorboards that creaked underfoot the only other object in the building was a rickety desk made from the same wind-blasted wood as the whole construction. Behind the desk was a small chair and behind that was a another door, presumably leading onto the ''platform''. And sitting on the desk was a small camping stove, perched on top of which was a beaten up red kettle.

Jayne and Mal heard the train rumble to a halt, the sliding of a heavy door, the dropping of two heavy objects, the closing of the same heavy door and finally the train continuing it's journey in the slow but powerful way only a train could.

The back door was kicked open by the short dumpy old man. In each hand he carried a large blue metal case, on the side of which was stencilled the letter 'W' in large white print. He looked at Mal square in the eye.

"Ye post did nay arrive." He said conspiratorially "But I take it ye were nay here for post."

Jayne drew his pistol and stepped forward "No we weren't old timer."

"Ye can call me Frank." He said before grabbing Jayne by the hand and bringing the barrel of his gun straight into his face. Hard.

Jayne fell back with a cry of pain, his hands flew up to his face to try and stem the tide of blood that streamed from his now broken nose.

Mal's gun flew from it's holster and levelled at Frank, but he already had Jayne's pointed at him. Mal glanced down at Jayne, he was rolling on the floor in a mixture of agony and shock. It's not every day you get beaten to a pulp by a man old enough to be your grandfather. Mal decided to change his tactics.

"You know, those tablets probably weren't goin anywhere special. There ain't a need to get yourself shot over them."

"I dannea care if they're goin to dehydrated reavers. Nobody steals from my station."

The two men stared at each other for a few moments. The room went quiet as Jayne stopped rolling around so much.

Mal's radio crackled into life, startling both men.

"Sir, what's the hold up." Asked Zoe's tinny voice.

"Mal slowly lifted the radio up to his lips and spoke into it "Nothing is all. Me and Frank were just discussing the time you and me were big damn heroes." Mal almost prayed Zoe got the hint.

"I dannea care if you are heroes." Frank told him "Nobody steals from my-" He never finished the sentence as the side of the building exploded into huge splinters of wood as the mule drove straight through it, Mal and Frank were sent reeling to the floor as they tried to dodge the vehicle and wooden fragments.

"Big damn hero sir!" Shouted Zoe over the noise of the engine "Big damn hero!"

"Yeah sure!" Shouted Mal as he began to heft the two cases onto the mule.

"What happened to him?" Asked Zoe, nodding her head at Jayne who had began to pick himself up of the floor. Still clutching his nose.

Mal climbed onto the mule and pulled Jayne up after him.

"Lets get outta here." He said as Zoe reversed out of the ruined building.

Frank pulled himself into a sitting position and surveyed the destruction.

"I'm gonna get sacked for this." He muttered.

000

The armoured van floated through the streets of Bernadette, deliberately avoiding the main airways and roads. But unbeknownst to the drive or it's only living occupant it was slowly leaking fuel. Not fast enough for it to fall out of the sky unannounced, but fast enough to force it to set down in an alleyway in a relatively run down section of the capital.

"I TOLD YOU TO FILL IT UP!" Shouted the female passenger. She was a tall, blonde and good looking.

"I did fill it up." Said the surprisingly calm driver. He, in comparison to his passenger was average height, bald and exceedingly ugly, but not overweight in any fashion. "Their must be something wrong with the intake valve." He muttered.

The woman took a phone from her pocket and began to dial while she admonished him "Well while you sit there, I'm going to solve this problem." But he had already opened the door and stepped out. She muttered under her breath about how useless he was when she heard him call "You should see this."

She opened the door as hard as she could and stomped to the back of the van only to walk into the barrel of a very large rifle, being wielded by an alliance marine. Except he had a red S glued to his armoured vest, over his heart.

"You won't get away with this." She told them.

"Oh but I will." Announced a voice from behind her. It was warm, almost comforting. But he couldn't hide the edge of steel that was just behind it. "Susan De-Vere. Still working for Blue Sun I see."

She turned around to see a very familiar face. It was round, smiling and happy, He wouldn't look out of place presenting children's television. If it wasn't for his eyes, they clearly betrayed the fact he had done horrible things.

"I'm sorry I can't remember your name." Susan tried to sound as condescending as possible.

His smile grew wider "If you had remembered, you would be dead."

Susan tried not to let her fear show. But it was there all the same, coiled in her chest. She was standing opposite the only known rouge operative, one of the most dangerous men alive.

"How did you know we would land here?" She asked, she managed to keep her voice from cracking.

He answered in an annoyingly chipper manner "I didn't. I have teams stationed all over the city." He looked at his watch "Speaking of which." He pulled a set of earplugs from his pocket and placed them carefully in his ears.

"Three. Two. One."

No sooner had the word left his lips the whole city shoot with a series of huge explosions. Including one above them. Glass rained on them covering Sarah in hundreds of tiny scratches as Sarah dived closer to the wall seeking cover. She felt someone pull her arms behind her, binding them together with plastic cord. A black bag covered her face and a rifle but slammed into her stomach, she doubled over in pain as a set of arms flung her over a shoulder.

She could hear the panic of the city as she was bundled into the back of a van, presumably a different one to hers. She also heard two heavy cases slam into the floor next to her. It confirmed her thoughts that they were after the gems, but probably only because the Alliance and Blue Sun wanted them. The operative was looking at this from a soldiers perspective, if your enemy wanted something, don't let them have it.

But the issue was, how did he know about the gems.

Perhaps an hour later Sarah was dumped into a chair, Someone tied her arms and legs to it with a flexible wire rope. She winced as it dug into her ankles and wrists. The bag was pulled from her head, she closed her eyes expecting a harsh light to be pointed at her face. But no.

Sarah opened them and looked around. She was in a dimply lit, but very clean room with bare white walls. The only source of light came from a corner behind her, she couldn't see the door either. Then she noticed it. On the floor was a metal tray, in which sat a single long bladed scalpel. Sarah wet herself in pure terror.

000

The mule sped across the flats towards the fast approaching shape of Serenity. And (Much to Mals annoyance and surprise) the smaller shape of an Alliance APC.

"They can't have caught up to us that quick." Mused Zoe.

Mal didn't answer as he slowed the mule down to a crawl. A young officer approached them as it became clear they were members of Serenity's crew.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Asked Mal as the mule shuddered to a halt.

"You are the captain? Malcolm Reynolds?" He did a good job if keeping the nerves from his voice, but not good enough to stop Mal, and probably Zoe from noticing.

"I am Captain Reynolds."

The young officer passed him four scraps of paper "I'm sorry for the state of the warrant, your engineer tore it up before kicking one of my men in the shins."

This elicited a snort of laughter from Jayne who had cleaned most of the blood from his face.

"Where is my engineer?" Asked Mal pointedly.

"She is under guard in your dining area, along with the companion."

"Why is Inara under guard?" Asked Zoe.

"When we restrained your engineer, she..." He winced slightly "Kicked one of my men in a sensitive area."

Jayne collapsed into fits of laughter while Mals face became even more grave.

"I want to speak to them. Now."

All of Simon ached. His arms were stuck in twisted into positions they really shouldn't have been, and his legs were pulled so close to his chest that they restricted his breathing. River, on the other hand seemed to have plenty of room. He sighed heavily, this sparked a cascade of various thoughts in his mind which ended in a single fact. This chamber is airtight.

"River. How much air have we got in here?" He asked as quietly as possible.

"About an hours worth."

That only gave him another concern "How long have we been in here?"

"About an hour." She answered calmly.

Simon tried to stop himself from having a panic attack, he wasn't sure how successful he was.

The whole crew of Serenity (Minus a brother and sister) sat around the dining table, a quick glare at the guard from Jayne had insured they were going to be left alone.

"Right, where's Pinky and Perkie." Asked Mal.

"The compartment in the hold." Answered Kaylee, a bit more franticly than she perhaps meant to.

"How long."

Somehow Mal managed to keep calm, despite all that was happening around him. And he was easily able to project that calm around him to other people, keeping them as calm as him.

"About an hour." She paused for a brief moment before the panic floodgates opened "But there's only somuchair..."

Mal shushed her forcefully "Kaylee. We have to keep our heads, if the feds smell a rat they'll only stay longer."

"Or if they find the loot." Commented Jayne, which caused Kaylee to panic somewhat.

Zoe slapped him on the back of the head. "Which they aren't going to find. Because it's still on the mule, which has been winched up out of sight."

"Uh, yeah." Said Jayne nervously.

"You did winch up the mule, didn't you Jayne."

They heard the sergeant walk into the room. Slowly they all turned to look at him.

"Captain Reynolds. Your crew is under arrest for the theft of Alliance property..." A large Bowie knife slammed into his face, cutting the sentence short and killing him instantly.

"Well I'm sure we can deal with this peacefully now." Said Inara angrily as Mal, Zoe and Jayne pulled out their guns.

"I ain't goin to the slammer." Muttered Jayne.

"Jayne." Said Mal "Next time, wait till you're told."

The five Alliance officers stood around the cargo hold, crouching behind various pieces of cover. Their sergeant had insisted on arresting the whole crew himself, they didn't expect him to come back down. He had said "When I tell them they are under arrest, they will just accept it as an inevitability." It had taken a lot of discipline not to laugh in his face. So when instead of the sergeant, three armed and rather angry gun toting spacers had come down the stairs they were not at all surprised.

Zoe opened fire first, putting a bullet through the eye of the closest officer. The rest dived for cover to escape her wrath. Then nothing happened for a few moments, The officers couldn't break cover and they couldn't be shot at either. Stalemate.

"We need a distraction." Muttered Jayne.

"Like what?" Asked Mal.

Almost as if on queue Simon burst out of the wall spluttering and coughing. Followed by a very calm looking River. This distracted the four remaining officers enough for Zoe to slip down the opposite stairs and flank them. Three shots, three more dead men. The last, realising he was outnumbered and out gunned, ran for it.

He didn't get far. Jayne hopped down the stairs, and shot him in the back as he ran.

"Was that really necessary?" Asked a noticeably groggy Simon.

"Probably." Answered Jayne.

Simon looked around at Zoe and Mal, expecting them to admonish him. The two of them just looked haggard and worn down, especially Zoe.

"River." Said Mal, attracting the attention of his young pilot "Get us of this rock." He sighed.

River skipped off up the stairs and out of the cargo hold, as if oblivious to the violence that had happened around her.

000

Autarch Shar-seer walked along the crisp white corridors of his ship The Spear of Kurnous. His thin armoured boots clacked as he approached the observation room where the Farseer was meditating. The doors parted before him silently, revealing the Farseer Al-men-al in all his cross legged glory.

"Has my daughter arrived." Asked the Farseer .

"Yes honoured Farseer. She has chosen to sleep in the arboretum for now, I trust you approve."

"I do not disapprove." He said simply "But you are here to discuss the reason she is here. I have heard you do not approve of the method I have chosen to retrieve the spirit stones."

"If I may speak freely?" Asked Shar-seer.

"You never have to ask that question Autarch."

"I believe that trusting the mission and your daughters life to any Mon-keigh is a grave mistake."

The Farseer looked at him for a few moments. Not angry, but contemplative. He seemed to genuinely consider Shar-seer's words.

"Then it is fortunate I have not picked just any Mon-keigh Autarch." He looked up through the crystal dome above them, at the large yellow planet they were orbiting "Tell me Autarch, how long have you been monitoring this system for the craftworld?"

"A single year honoured Farseer."

"Then you will know that this planet is about as far from important as it can get out here."

"That is a good approximation yes. I had wondered why we were here?"

"Because this where we will find the perfect group to help us." Just as he finished the sentence a small beat up ship struggled out of the planets atmosphere. "And here they are."

"They are being pursued honoured Farseer. Shall I destroy or simply warn off the other ship?" He asked motioning to the other smaller craft.

"Destroy it."

"Very well."

000

Mal walked through Serenity to the cockpit, never losing his footing despite the intense shuddering that came of breaking free from a planets atmosphere. He looked at River as she piloted Serenity, not even looking at the panels as she pressed a complex looking series of buttons. Mal looked at the radar screen as he sat in the co-pilots chair, a small blip appeared at the back of them.

"River, what's that?" He asked, not even needing to point anything out.

She glanced at the screen. Paused for a moment, And pulled the joystick hard to the right. Mal winced as the distinctive sound of shattering crockery, men falling over and swearing sounded from the back of the ship. Not one second later the whole ship shook. Mal watched out the window at the unmistakable blue streak of an Alliance neutron missile. He heard and felt Zoe as she bounded up the stairs into the cockpit.

"What the gorram hell?!" She shouted in confusion.

"We got an arsehole." He answered as River again pulled the joystick violently, Which elicited even more shouting and swearing from the dining area.

"What's an arsehole?" Asked River as though she was making dinner conversation.

"Alliance Short Range Enforcement Vehicle." Answered Zoe "ASREV, arsehole."

"They've launched another missile." Announced River loudly. Mal could almost feel the ship brace for the inevitable impact. An impact which never came. The only sound was the soft plinking of electronics and Rivers confused "Umm?"

"Isn't there supposed to be a bang?" Asked Mal.

Almost as if answering him the whole ship began to shake. The controls began moving of their own accord, the joystick pulled itself out of rivers hands. But she didn't notice. River was staring out at the stars, her eyes had glazed over.

"River?" Zoe failed to keep the concern from her voice.

"She sings to me. It's so beautiful." She muttered dreamily.

"Gorram it, she's gone moon headed!" Shouted Mal as he tried to pull her from the chair as carefully as possible.

Zoe wasn't listening. She was watching the ship fly itself, her face a mask of fear and wonder. Then the stairs disappeared, And Serenity landed of something with a loud thump.

Mal grabbed the microphone for the tannoy and spoke through it tentatively "Uh. Everybody ok?" He was answered by a chorus of yeahs from the dining area of the ship.

Following Zoe he carefully carried River through the ship, which was a lot more gloomy than it should have been. As he sidled through the door Kaylee and Simon jumped up to see if River was okay. He placed her down in a nearby chair. She was still muttering about how pretty the singing was, which was confusing everyone else no end.

"What happened?" Asked Inara.

"We don't know." Answered Zoe.

They all jumped at the sound of a loud clunk from downstairs. Jayne, Mal and Zoe all pulled their guns and turned to stare at the closest entrance to room. But nothing happened.

Until River jumped up and shouted at them "Well if you're not gonna say hello!" and ran out the room. They all followed her into the cargo hold but stopped one after the other as they saw who was standing in their hold.

They were incredibly tall, wearing body hugging armour that seemed to move with him as he walked up to River. He removed his tall helmet revealing his face, and his long pointed ears. If it wasn't obvious before, now they could all clearly see that he wasn't human. He looked at River, his irises slightly hidden due to his thin, almond shaped eyes. River stepped closer to him, looking up at him open mouthed in awe. Simon ran down and almost flung himself between River and the intruder.

Mal just about heard River say to Simon "It's okay, I was just teaching him how to speak."

Then much to everyone's shock the alien spoke to Simon in perfect English "Not how to speak, more how to speak one of your languages."

"You're welcome." Said River with a slight curtsy.

Then the alien looked up at the gangway the rest of the crew were standing on and said loudly "Malcolm Reynolds?"

"Yeah." Answered Mal.

"I have a job for you and your crew."

Mal barely heard the thud of Jayne hitting the floor as he fainted.


	3. Wanderlust - Chapter 2

**Wanderlust**

**Chapter 2**

The crew of Serenity stood and stared at the alien, who had just told them he wanted to employ them. Except Jayne, who had fainted. They were all reeling from the shock of the revelation that humanity was in fact, not alone in the universe. For a few moments no one spoke, which clearly annoyed the Alien.

"Did you hear me?" He asked in an annoyed tone. Mal could only nod, dumbfounded. This elicited a roll of the Aliens eyes.

"When you have composed yourselves, you may join me in the hanger bay." He said before turning on his feet and striding out of the open cargo bay door, stopping only to bow to river as she waved goodbye. They looked at the door he had left through, at the brilliant white light that shone into the ship from outside.

River spun on her feet and practically shouted at Mal "That was very rude you know!" before running into the back of the ship towards her quarters.

Mal tried to organise his thoughts but found his mind had turned into a thick soup of words, most of which were 'that was a gorram' repeated over and over again. He was snapped back to a now very odd reality by Zoe, who had asked him what his orders were. He turned to the members of his crew who were on the gangplank with him, put on his sternest face and said "Kaylee I want you to-THAT WAS A GORRAM ALIEN!"

"I KNOW!" Shouted Kaylee, her excitement clear in her voice and facial features.

"We're the first people to ever meet an extra terrestrial being." Muttered Inara, more to herself than anyone else.

"Captain!" Said Zoe clearly "Orders?" Mal looked at her, his thoughts snapped into clear regimented lines.

"Okay. Kaylee, I need you to check to see if we got damaged at all. Zoe, help the doc get Jayne to the infirmary. I gotta talk to our moon brained pilot."

**0**

River looked down at her feet and frowned. They were (as usual) clad in heavy black combat boots, which she did not think was very appealing. And if she was going to succeed taking in care of the crew during the upcoming diplomatic minefield she would have to look her best. She was already wearing her best dress, long and blue.

Mal knocked on her door, River liked Mal. His thoughts were clear, but still easy to ignore. "River. You decent?" He asked, his voice slightly muffled by the thin door.

"Yes." She answered, turning her attention back to her feet problem. She didn't really hear the door slide open.

"_Hun dan_!" Shouted a surprised Mal. River turned around confused. Mal had covered his eyes and was blushing profusely "River, I thought you said you was decent." He said.

River looked down and realised she wasn't actually wearing a dress. She had taken off her old one but only imagined putting on the blue one. Tears welled up inside her. It wasn't fair, why couldn't she tell whether something was real, why could she fly Serenity like it was second nature but every so often fail to even dress herself. It just wasn't fair.

She looked at Mal. She could tell what he was thinking, it was a mixture of pity and fear and little else. He was standing in a room with a nearly naked girl and all he could feel was pity and fear. Sometimes it frightened River that nobody would ever find her attractive, that she would only be either a friend, a patent or a weapon. River tried to hold back her emotions but she couldn't and the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She sat down on the bed with a small sob.

"Woah, I'm not angry with you. There's no need to cry." Said Mal in as comforting voice as he could manage. While wrapping River in the sheets from her bed, which he managed with surprising grace considering he was still averting his eyes. He tentatively wrapped an arm around her to comfort her.

She leaned her head into his shoulder and asked weakly "Mal, am I attractive?"

She could tell Mal was stumbling for an answer that wouldn't get him in trouble with Simon, but also an answer that would cheer River up. "Well..." He started "You are very pretty, and..."

"And?"

"And. I'm sure there are many young men who would love to..." Mal stopped, He hadn't been thinking ahead and was now very close to putting his foot in it. "...Treat you right." He said after a brief pause.

River looked up at Mals nervous face. She had never really thought about relationships before, she had been to preoccupied with figuring out what her nightmares meant. And going to Miranda had cleared up a big portion of that. But it occurred to River that by all standards she could think of Mal was a very good choice of boyfriend, even if River didn't quite know what that entailed.

"Would you treat me right?" She asked expectantly.

"Um. Can I just ask, has anybody had 'the talk' with you." He asked nervously.

"What talk?"

"I'll take that as a no. River, I'm sorry no one's been conjurin that you're a young woman with, young woman problems. And while it's not really my place I'll see if I can get Inara to talk to him about it." He gently de-tangled himself from River and left quietly saying "I've gotta go, see you later."

River curled up into a ball on her bed and tried to have a nap.

**0**

Mal stumbled up the steps to Inaras shuttle. The preceding conversation had rather set him off kilter, even more so than an alien walking into his hold. Perhaps it was because the River situation was a lot more real and much closer to home. But it was also a situation he could solve (He hoped).

Like always he strode into Inara's shuttle without knocking, with the most confident looking swagger he could manage. Inara was shakily poring herself a small glass of saké. When she looked up at Mal she didn't look angry as he had expected but almost relieved she would have someone to talk to.

"Would you like a glass?" She asked.

"Oh god yes." Answered Mal a little quickly.

Inara passed him the glass she had poured before taking a huge swig straight from the bottle. He knocked back the glass and gestured for another, she poured another. He all but threw the whole lot down his neck before speaking.

"Inara, I need you to have a talk with River."

"What about?" She asked.

"You know, the talk."

The realisation seemed to smack her in the face "Oh. _The talk_." She took another smaller swig. "Why?"

"Well not really the talk, just a talk about relationships in general."

"Why?" She asked suspiciously "What did you say?"

"Nothing, honest." Said Mal defensively "It's just she asked me if she was attractive, and I didn't know what to say. So..."

"So." Mal could tell Inara was getting ready to tear his balls off now (Figuratively he hoped).

"So, I told her she was pretty."

"And?"

"And that any guy would love to treat her right."

Inara looked at him "I have a lot of damage control to do."

"What damage control?" Asked Mal offended.

"I'll explain later." Inara told him as she stood up to leave. "Also, Zoe was looking for you."

"Thanks."

**0**

Simon opened Jaynes eyes and shone a light into them. His pupils dilated as they should, he felt Jayne try to close his eyelid and he smiled slightly to himself. Simon didn't exactly like Jayne but he would never wish him any permanent harm, a side affect of having taken the Hippocratic oath.

He felt two arms wrap around his chest, he knew exactly who it was from the feint smell of engine oil that was now hanging in the air. A smell he had grown to love over the last few weeks. He spun himself around to return Kaylees hug, and to give her a kiss.

"Is Jayne gonna be okay?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"That's one of the reasons I love you." He told her.

"What?" She asked, slightly embarrassed.

"The way you care about everyone so much."

She smiled and pulled their foreheads together. "And I love they way you're such a good doctor." She told him "Good with your hands." She whispered.

"Eww." Moaned Jayne from the bed "I heard that, and I didn't need to."

"Jayne. You're awake." Said Simon as he spun back round.

"Wut happened?" He asked groggily.

"You hit your head." Answered Kaylee.

"I gave you a mild painkiller. but you might still be a little woozy." Simon elaborated.

"I had the weirdest dream." Said Jayne as he pulled himself up "I dreamed and alien walked into the hold. And told us he had a job for us." He looked at the barely suppressed laughs on Simon and Kaylees faces "Pretty crazy right."

Their was a long pause before either Kaylee or Simon spoke. But eventually Kaylee told him "Jayne. That weren't a dream. That's why you fainted."

"Bullcrap! I don't feint!"

"Yeah." dismissed Kaylee as she dragged Simon out of the infirmary.

She pulled him down onto the large sofa that sat outside, she looked him in the eyes and said "It was an alien. An actual alien." Her voice was bursting with the excitement she felt.

"Not just a cow in a jar." Responded Simon, equally excited.

"He was actually pretty handsome." Smirked Kaylee playfully.

"But not as handsome as a certain doctor you know I'm sure." He replied. And it struck Kaylee just how much he had changed since they had first met. Had she made that joke then, he would have panicked and said just the wrong thing. But now able to keep his wits about him.

The two of them were still giggling with excitement a few moments later when Inara glided past them towards the guest quarters.

"Hey 'nara." Chirped Kaylee.

"Hello you two."

"Whatcha doin?" She asked.

"Mal asked me to have a talk with River." She answered nervously.

"What about?" Asked Simon.

"Relationships, and what goes on in them."

"What!" Exclaimed Simon before a mask of rage crept across his face "What did he do?"

"Nothing Simon, don't worry." Chided Inara, trying to calm him down as she sat down next to him "It's just a small concern Mal has. She's a young woman now, and Mal thinks it would be best if she had a good idea of what a healthy relationship was before someone takes advantage of her." Her eyes glanced at Jayne unconsciously.

"It just surprises me that Mal's the one who asked you."

"It's not just you who cares about her you know." Admonished Kaylee.

"I know." He said reproachfully "And soon I'm going to have to get used to her taking care of herself."

**0**

Mal found Zoe sitting in the co-pilots chair in the cockpit. She never sat in the pilots chair, or even looked at it if she could avoid it. Mal looked at her face, sadness etched onto it and he wished he could help her. But she was far to proud to accept his help, and he simply didn't know how to help anyway. He tried to look through the windows but he was almost blinded by the light that radiated through.

"What do the scanners say?" He asked quietly.

"Nothing, something blocking them." Responded Zoe, her voice weaker than Mal was comfortable with.

"Zoe. You wanna talk?" He asked. He had asked her almost every week since it had happened, but the answer had always been the same.

"No sir, thank you." She answered, like she always did, but Mal didn't push the issue. He never did.

"Sir. What we gonna do?" She asked.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "We gotta talk to the crew about it."

"We gonna take the job? If there is one."

Mal sighed deeply "I gotta feeling we don't have a choice." Mal rubbed his eyes and yawned sleepily "Gather up the crew in the galley. Lets see if we can't work out what gorram hell is going on."

**o0o**

Sarah looked down at the silver tray, at the scalpel. Even in the low light of the dingy room, the edge of the blade gleamed. The same fear that had coiled itself around her hear earlier in the day now threatened to overwhelm her, to drag her into a dark pit of helpless hysterics.

"Are you afraid?" Asked a voice from behind her. It took a few moments for Sarah to realise the voice was female, and young. Perhaps just a teenager.

"No."

"You're lying." It tittered. The voice was right, Sarah was petrified. Her damp trousers were evidence enough. "I can taste your fear."

"That's enough." Admonished the hard voice of the operative. "Remember what I told you Callista."

"To be nice to our guests." Sighed Callista.

"Exactly."

The blue shirted operative walked out in front of her, hand in hand with a fourteen year old girl. Who was holding the wooden box under her other arm. He looked down at her and sighed "Do you really need those?" He asked.

"They sing to me." She answered dreamily.

"She's a reader." Blurted out Sarah.

"Yes she is." Said the operative with a smirk. "I saved her from the academy."

"I've heard about it."

"It's where the majority of parliaments intelligence comes from nowadays." He patted Callistas head "From gatherer class readers, like young Callista here."

Sarah looked at Callista. She was about fourteen, short and under developed for her age. She was dressed about as skimpily as your average teenage girl, her blonde hair cut to shoulder length and tied into a single tight braid.

"It was in fact Callista that told me about the gems you were told to collect."

"I heard them singing." She told Sarah "They sounded so sad and lonely." She said wistfully.

"But what she couldn't tell me, was what you were going to use them for."

"I don't know!" Spluttered Sarah. As soon as she spoke, Sarah knew she had spoken to quickly.

The operative smiled as Callista told him "She's lying again."

He stooped to pick up the scalpel "Callista. Please leave us."

"You never let me watch." Protested the teenager.

"Callista!"

The young girl left Sarahs line of sight in a huff as the operative gently ran his finger along the edge of the scalpel blade.

"I don't need a reader to tell if you're lying. And this is going to move along a lot faster if you don't lie to me." He told her matter of factly, and now Sarah knew he had done this perhaps hundreds of times before. "Now. What were they going to be used for."

Sarah sighed in resignation and told him what she knew "We were going to try and use them to create a long range, psychic communications network..."

"One that would be completely untraceable and secure." He finished for her. "How were you going to do that?"

"I don't know, they never told me."

He approached her and grabbed her hair. Sarah winced in pain as she felt some of her hair get pulled out at the roots. "Please." She begged "I'm telling the truth, you have to believe me."

He let her go and motioned to someone behind her. Another thick black bag was forced over her head, once again shutting her off from the world.

**o0o**

Mal looked around at his crew, he could see the tiredness in their eyes. He didn't blame them for it, he could barely keep his own eyes open. To his right Zoe was sat up straight in her chair, to the others it would seem like the huge day had no effect on her. But Mal could see she was as worse for ware as the rest of them.

Jayne sat next to Zoe, cross armed like always. Occasionally his eyes would close only to snap open again. Next to him Kaylee was leaning into Simon's shoulder, almost asleep. Simon himself looked virtually unaffected by almost fourteen hours of constant stress. Mal reasoned that the last fourteen hours were nothing compared to a bad day at A and E.

On the other side of the table were River and Inara. Inara was clearly very tired indeed, Spending most of her time rubbing her eyes. River however was wide awake, she looked as if the preceding day had never happened. Just looking at her made Mal feel even more tired.

"Right." He announced, brining them all as close to attention as possible "We all know as much as anyone else about what's going on. So lets see if we can't conjure what the gorram hell is going on." They all looked at River, having all agreed earlier on that she seemed to be most in the know. "River?" Asked Mal.

"We should hold a séance." She said, as if it explained anything.

"Well that was useless." Commented Mal "Does anyone have any good ideas?"

"We might as well take the job." Commented Simon "What have we got to lose?"

"We could die." Countered Zoe.

"I got the feeling if they wanted to waste us, they could." Slurred Jayne sleepily.

"All right then." Continued Simon "Don't think about what we could lose. Think about what we could gain."

"Ponies." Muttered a now fast asleep Kaylee.

Simon continued oblivious "Think about what we could learn from them." He paused and looked around at the vacant faces of the rest of the crew "Think about how much they'll be able to pay us." This was met by looks of revelation from the crew.

Inara spoke next "Well, they obviously want to keep their existence a secret. So I imagine it's either we accept the job, or they kill us."

The words hung in the air. They all knew she was talking sense, and it was clear that the aliens were more than capable of destroying them.

"So we take the job." Agreed Mal.

"I hope they pay us well." Jayne wondered aloud.

"I hope they don't mind if I get some sleep." Yawned Mal. "I want everyone up at eight." He told them before sloping off quietly to his quarters.

**o0o**

Shar-seer looked around at the trees, a mish mash of Pine, Sequoia and Maple trees. The various types of leaf littered the ground and gave a satisfying crunch beneath his feet as he walked. The Farseer Al-man-al stood before him inspecting a small shrub. Its small white flowers looking as if they had just burst into blossom. The fact the ship even had an arboretum this large was nothing short of a miracle, considering the amount of space that is took up. But considering the ship spent a lot of its time far away from the craftworld, a place of relaxation and meditation was considered a must.

Shar-seer cleared his throat before saying "I have given them the first message honoured Farseer. But they have yet to emerge from their, craft."

"They are asleep. After all it has been a big day for them." said the Farseer quietly.

"I still find it hard to believe the didn't know they were not alone in the galaxy." Commented Shar-seer.

"It is a sad case of ignorance caused by blindness." Answered the Farseer "They live in an area of becalmed warp. The fact that they were able to travel here at all is nothing short of a miracle."

"What do you mean?" Asked a female voice. It was soft, melodious and much to Shar-seer's surprise came from above them.

Al-men-al sighed before answering his daughters question "Because the warp here is becalmed, they would have had to travel here at sub warp speeds."

The voice above them whistled in astonishment. Even is they had travelled from the closest human colony at those speeds, it would have been a mammoth undertaking. And Al-men-al suspected they had travelled from Terra itself. How, no one was quite sure.

The Farseer turned to Shar-seer and gave him the look that was reserved for very important instructions or news "Shar-seer. I am only going to tell you this once. The Mon-keigh in this system must not know of the Imperium, or anything else about the state of the galaxy at large." He paused before looking up. "That goes for you too." He shouted.

"May I ask why?"

Al-men-al turned his attention back to the blossom and chuckled "Just an experiment that's nearing it's end."

**o0o**

Mal stumbled into the galley scratching his stubble. He looked around at Kaylee and Zoe, both of them were sitting on one side of the table sipping their morning coffee. The early morning sun streamed in through the upper widows. ''Which is lucky'' he thought to himself ''because Kaylee ain't being her usual sunny self.'' He decided she needed cheering up.

"You know." He started cheerily "I had the weirdest dream last night." He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down in front of them, he sipped at it as he spoke "I dreamed that we were robbing some old Scottish guy, but he kicked the crap outta Jayne. Then we high tailed it outta their, only the feds were waitin and they shot at us. But then we got snatched by aliens..." He started to chuckle in earnest "... And they hired us to pull a job." He looked up at the bleak faces of his two favourite crew members, his chuckles slowly petered out when he remembered something else "And River was askin me if she was pretty. Huh." He looked at the two women. Upon seeing he wasn't getting any real reaction from them he decided to leave, announcing "I'll just go see if the albatross is okay." Kaylee and Zoe watched as Mal walked towards the back of the ship.

Kaylee began to speak timidly "Should we...?"

"Give it a minute." Zoe told her.

A few moments later they heard Mal give off the longest stream of swears, curses and general bad language they had ever heard.

**o0o**

River stared at the door. She had been staring at it for a long time. Perhaps a couple of hours now, she wasn't really sure. She had zoned out trying to make her decision, time had lost it's meaning as had anything other than her brain and its focus. Which in this case, was the door. Serenity's front door. She had gotten like this yesterday when picking out her clothes. It hadn't been for quite as long but still, it was disconcerting to think that something could occupy her to the extent where she forgot to put clothes on.

She thought about her talk with Inara. The companion had explained love and sex to her. River already understood the mechanics of it all, the cortex and the images in Jaynes head had made sure of that. But River had always been so caught up in being a child genius that no one had ever taken the time to explain to her the reason why, other than to produce offspring. She had never thought of it as an expression of love before. When the couples in love on the ship engaged in such activity's River had always tried to be polite and stay away in as many senses of the word River was aware of.

River returned her attention to the door and the problem it represented. She thought on the problem deeply for a moment and made her decision.

**o0o**

Mal looked down at the empty glass of scotch, his head in his hands.

"Are you sure you should be drinkin this early 'cap?" Asked Kaylee as sweetly as possible.

"No." Came his muffled response.

"We gotta go out sometime." Zoe told him "Preferably before they decide they're tired of waitin."

"I know."

"Should I go wake up Jayne?" She asked.

"Tell him no big guns." Almost pleaded Mal. "I don't wanna be responsible for the first ever war between humans and aliens."

"So does that mean we can leave the ship?" Asked Kaylee tentatively.

Mal's head shot up and he nearly shouted "No!" He took a moment to compose himself "Not until we're sure Serenity isn't the safest place to be right now." Mal seemed to ponder something for a moment before he shouted down the ship "ZOE, TELL JAYNE HE'S GUARDING THE SHIP TODAY!"

Mal looked at Kaylee before pulling her into a brotherly hug "Just in case." He told her.

Mal looked around at the whole crew, except River. Mal was sure she was still asleep, she had stayed up the latest the night before.

They had gathered in the main cargo hold to see Zoe and Mal off. It wasn't something they normally did. But normally they couldn't all feel the hand of history on their shoulder. They knew this meeting could determine the future of Alien-Human diplomatic relations. And everyone was nervous, and it showed. Even the normally stoic to a fault Zoe had a worried face on.

The two of them stepped up to the threshold of the door. Zoe's hand hovered over the handle, her hands sweaty with nerves. It didn't help that Simon had chosen now to mutter audibly "The first humans to see an alien ship."

Mal looked back at the small crowd "We'll be back in a jiffy." He told them, not quite believing it, and not knowing what a jiffy even was."

Zoe pulled the door open with a grunt. Mal was the first to look through the portal. They heard him gasp audibly before shouting.

"GORRAM IT RIVER!" he paused, the noise of his outburst gave way to a confused silence. Mal then added to the confusion by asking to himself, loud enough for everyone to hear "Is that an orange cat?"

**To Be Continued...**

**Remember to review.**

_Hun dan_: "Damn!"


	4. Wanderlust - Chapter 3

**Wanderlust**

**Chapter 3**

Atherton Wing Senior hobbled through the corridors of Childersburg building, the seat of the Alliances power. At the age of ninety he was easily the oldest member of Parliament and it showed in the way men and woman nodded their deference as he slowly made his way past, his weight mostly supported by his long gilded walking stick.

He barely paid attention to his aid as he listed off all the topics that the parliament were suppose to be discussing in today's session. The young man was full of hope and optimism, he hadn't yet learned that most of the decision had already been made behind closed doors and the public session was a glorified stage show. But one item on the list caught the old man's attention.

"Repeat that last item." He said, his voice cracked with age.

"Lord Graceland is announcing the results of the Miranda enquiry." The young man told him.

The sharp ringing of a brass bell indicated it was five minutes till the beginning of the session, and Atherton senior began the slow process of ascending the steps to the marbled hall of the Alliance Parliament. By the time he had reached his seat everybody else had been seated. But everyone waited patiently for him to get settled, showing the appropriate level of respect for his advanced age.

The ageing politician didn't really listen as the first few items on the itinerary were dealt with. They had nothing to do with him, they didn't affect him so he didn't care. It wasn't until much later that he was broken out of an almost nap by his aide tapping him on his shoulder and pointing at the central podium, now occupied by Lord Graceland.

The tall but portly Lord Graceland ordered his papers and cleared his throat to speak "Ministers and lords. I have completed my investigation into the so called Miranda Débâcle and the Miranda Broadwave." He paused for a few moments to check his papers again before continuing "It is the findings of the investigative team (headed by myself) that no current members of parliament had any knowledge of the Pax project and as such the current government cannot be held in any way accountable.

"But I wish to take this opportunity to assure the public that all the still living members of the projects research team have been arrested and a trial will take place soon. The full findings are contained within the report and is available upon request from the records office."

Atherton senior smiled to himself, he was in the clear. He turned to his aide and said to him as quietly as possible "Inform my son of his engagement to Miss Graceland as soon as possible."

At the podium Lord Graceland turned to the next page of his papers and started speaking again "It is also my responsibility at this juncture to inform the public of the nature of the Miranda Broadwave. A thorough investigation has revealed the broadcast to be the actions of the rogue government agent known to the public as 'The Operative', who is also responsible for the recent terrorist attacks on Bernadette.

"Let me assure the public that at this moment a large task force is being gathered to deal with this madman. And also let me be clear, any leaked reports of the source of the broadwave being a psychic assassin are fallacious."

The room filled with the sound of clapping as Lord Graceland stepped down from the podium.

Atherton's aide showed Lord Graceland into the politicians personal chamber. He sank into one of the leather chairs at the desk and grabbed the tumbler of scotch that had been waiting for him.

"May I be the first to congratulate you." Said the old man after taking a sip from his own beverage.

"On what?" Asked the lord.

"Your daughters engagement, I hear my son asked her while we were in session." Atherton senior gave a knowing smile as he spoke.

"They will make quite a couple." Said Graceland, raising his glass in salute. The two men smiled at the fact they had just forged one of the most powerful political dynasties in Alliance history.

"Just out of interest." Said Atherton after a brief pause "What actually happened?"

"Exactly what was in the operatives report." Answered Lord Graceland "But it was felt that we shouldn't put that in the actual report for two reasons. One; It would give proof of the existence of project Percussor. Two; It would have given any political uprising a figurehead to rally behind. Now all they have to do that is a violent terrorist, not a swashbuckling Firefly captain. Whose identity is still a mystery."

"You still don't know who it was?"

"No we don't. The report never gave any names, and all those who did know are either dead or now members of the operatives terrorist cell." Graceland paused to finish his drink "But their arn't many Firefly's left in the sky. We'll get the _hundan _soon."

**0**

Atherton's hovercar pulled out of the exit into the street and was as usual met by a roar of insults and chants as hundreds of protestors wielding placards made their opinions heard. And as usual Atherton senior simply put in his earplugs and went back to reading his book.

**o0o**

Mal looked down at his diminuative pilot with his best captains scowl, but he couldn't keep it up. Seeing River happily play with a large orange and purple cat was just to wierd and adorable. But his scowl returned when he realised that she would probably want one, or at least a cat. And then she'd get Kaylee on her side, and Mal would never be able to say no to both of them forever.

"River. What the gorram hell?" He sighed.

She looked at him with a cocked head "Because you need me to stop you making enemies." She answered as if the reason was obvious.

Mal leaned down and began to whisper "We don't know if we can trust these people, if they-"

He was interrupted by a male, melodic voice "I assure you captain, me and my people mean you know harm."

Mal turned to the direction the voice came from. The owner was a man wearing a long yellow robe embroidered with blue runes. He was tall, at least seven foot. His auburn hair flowed down past his shoulders. And despite his sharp features he still managed to have a warm, inviting face. Mal glanced at Zoe. He turned to look at her in confusion. She was standing, shoulder slumped, mouth open in amazement. Mal followed her gaze, and finally saw the room he was standing in.

They were at the edge of a huge dome, filled with sleek floating craft that soundlessly travelled from place to place. He could see wide winged planes, some with their innards open for maintenance. Mal couldn't see any light sources but the whole room was still brightly lit, not a single part of it was gloomy or even in shadow at all.

"If I might distract you from your sightseeing for a few moments." Said another harder male voice Mal recognised as the guy who had been on his ship the night before. Who was wearing an identical set of armour to that which he was wearing before.

Zoe managed to snap herself back to the situation at hand and did the same for Mal by tapping him on the shoulder.

"I don't wish to offend." Said Mal "But I still don't know we can trust you."

River sighed and rolled her eyes as she stood up. She stepped up to Mal a lightly slapped him on the back of the head. Mal recoiled in shock and surprise. She told him "If they were going to kill us, they would have done it by now."

"She is right." Said the robed man. He nodded to the armoured man who stepped forward and bowed slightly to Mal.

"Captain Reynolds. If you and your first officer would like to join me, we have much to discuss." He motioned for them to follow and began to walk off. Mal hesitated for a moment before following, with Zoe following him.

The robed alien stepped up to River and bowed, he fixed her with a quizzical gaze which she returned, her head cocked to one side. He smiled and offered her his arm and said "Come River, I must discuss your future with your brother."

**o0o**

Jim ''Jimmy'' Henderson had been a hospital porter for nearly ten years, he could always count the years because he had gotten the job the day after his eighteenth birthday, which was a month from now.

"Hear you are Mrs Schneider." He told the elderly dementia patient as he wheeled her into her room.

"Where are we Joe?" She asked.

"This is your room." he reassured her "Remember?" He asked her pleadingly, it was always hard dealing with dementia patients. Especially Mrs Schneider, who had previously been an aerospace engineer before her mind had gone.

She looked around for a moment "Yes. My room." She said with triumph.

Jimmy smiled at her "See you tomorrow Mrs Schneider."

Jimmy stepped out into the cool night air and smiled to himself. Another days work, another days pay. He was happy.

Then he saw the body.

Sprawled along the curb in front of the ground level entrance was a young woman, naked and covered in blood. Jimmy called for help as he rushed to her. He found she was covered in bruises and cuts from a truly viscous beating.

Soon a paramedic and an armed guard (Hospitals having been given extra security due to the terrorist attack) joined Jimmy at her side. The paramedic gingerly turned her over so she could be put on a stretcher, Jimmy sighed with relief as he saw she was still breathing. His relief soon turned to pity as he looked into her eyes. They gave a look Jimmy knew well. It was the same vacant eyed look he saw in Mrs Schneider. The poor woman may still be alive physically, but inside she was already dead.

**o0o**

Mal gaped in awe as dry leaves crunched under his feet as he walked, through a forest, he was walking through a forest on a ship. He had even walked through different seasons, when the lift had brought the three of them here it was spring, now he was walking through Autumn, part of him really wanted to see if he could find winter. He looked over at Zoe, who looked equally amazed.

Mal took a few moments to inspect their guide. He was still wearing the same weird armour, as well as a long sword on his hip. Up close Mal could see just how tall he was, easily seven foot tall. That coupled with his sharp features and the way he held himself Mal could not help but be slightly intimidated.

Mal tried to break the uncomfortable silence "So why are we talkin' in a park and not on my ship?"

"Because you need to meet the passenger we will be sending with you." He told them.

The mention of a passenger put Mal on edge, he already had a bad feeling about this job and it wasn't getting better. "Passenger?" He asked.

"Don't worry Mon-keigh. All will be explained shortly."

"Mon-keigh?" Asked Zoe warily.

"It is our word for your species." He explained. "Ahh. We are here." He told them as they reached a small clearing. In the centre of which grew a thick, black barked tree. It's branches covered in small golden leaves. The Eldar motioned to the circler bench that surrounded the thick trunk of the tree and the three of them sat down.

"She shouldn't be long." He told them and they sat down. He remained standing and began to scan the three line, obviously waiting for ''She''.

A few minutes later the Eldar was clearly getting impatient waiting for the forth party. He muttered something under his breath and Mal heard a small feminine giggle from up above him, he and Zoe looked up but couldn't see anybody. They shared a confused glance and the giggles grew to a full laugh. Mal looked to their companion annoyed but could see the laugh was directed at his very angry face.

"I suppose now is a good a time as any for introductions." He said with surprising calm "I am Autarch Shar-seer, captain of this ship." He glanced upwards with annoyance "And the voice you are hearing is Alleban, the daughter of the Farseer Al-men-al. Who is currently on your ship taking care of some business."

"What business?" Asked Alleban.

"You can ask him yourself the next time you see him, I believe he wishes to discuss it with you anyway. For now you come down from your branch to greet these Mon-keigh."

Their was a brief sound of scrabbling as a cloaked figure dropped from the tree above them and landed in a slight crouch next to Shar-seer. Mal and Zoe's eyebrows raised at her flowing cloak as it shifted in colour from black with flecks of gold to a dappled brown/green to match the her new surroundings. She turned around to reveal a sharp featured, feminine and absolutely filthy face. Beneath her cloak they could see she was wearing similar armour to Shar-seer but the plates were thinner and attached to a less visibly sturdy material. She was not as tall as any of the aliens they had seen so far, she was a couple of inches shorter than Zoe and not as broad.

"Hello." She greeted them with a small wave of her hand and a weak smile. She pulled down the foot of her cloak, revealing her long, blonde, scraggly hair braided into a tight ponytail. But it was clear that it hadn't been washed in a while.

"Hi." Said Mal with a smile "I'm captain Malcolm Reynolds and this my first officer Zoe Washburne." Zoe gave a slight nod at her name. "Now, not to be rude but you say you've got a job for us."

Shar-seer smiled slightly before he spoke "Yes. We wish you to retrieve twelve items for us. Six crystal swords and six gemstones." He pulled his sword free from it's scabbard and passed it to Mal hilt first. Mal could only whistle in admiration at the craftsmen-ship, he could barely see any marks on the clear blade. He passed it back gingerly.

"They will be very similar to that blade." Shar-seer told them "Only without the scabbard or the leather upon the grip."

"And the gems?" Asked Zoe.

"They will be like this." He said as he pointed to the gem embedded in his breast plate "But appearance does not matter so much. Alleban will be able to identify whether you have the correct items."

"Speakin' about that." Interrupted Mal "We haven't cleared whether we're letting a passenger on board."

"You will." Said Shar-seer solidly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small lump of transparent rock and threw it to Mal who caught it deftly. He inspected it closely before passing it to Zoe.

"Is that what I think it is?" She asked.

"We have roughly eight tons of raw, uncut diamond in the ships stores. Whilst we have no intention of giving you that much we will be giving you roughly ten thousand credits worth in two instalments. Five now."

"And five when we complete the job." Finished Mal. He nodded thoughtfully. A quick glance at the nodding Zoe helped Mal make his decision "Ok, it's a deal."

"Very good." Said Alleban dryly "Just give me a moment to pack." She ran and jumped up into the tree, disappearing from view.

"Why'd you pick her?" Asked Mal.

"Simply because she's short enough to pass for a human. Her ears might require some creativity but i'm sure you can manage." Answered Shar-seer.

"I get the feeling she isn't very happy about this." Commented Zoe.

Shar-seer motioned for them to start walking. A few moments of silent walking later they were out of ear shot and Shar-seer finally spoke "She has chosen to be a ranger, a solitary wanderer in the wilds of the galaxy. A path chosen by those who wish to escape the trappings of our civilisation and perhaps achieve a closer bond with nature. In that case it is perhaps understandable she is annoyed with her assignment." Shar-seer paused to sigh "Or she wants to cut lose, go nuts and fuck everything that moves and she's keeping up appearances."

Mal raised an eyebrow at his comments "Either way we don't let her near Jayne." He whispered to Zoe.

**0**

Kaylee and Simon exchanged nervous glances as they sat next to each other in the dining area, sipping their coffee. It had only been a few moments since Zoe and Mal had left the ship and the nervousness of waiting was already starting to get to them, it didn't help matters that their was nothing to do except wait for them to come back and report. And now the excitement of seeing an alien had worn off, replaced by a deep unease as to their motives.

They heard the soft sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Looking up the saw River leading a softly smiling alien by the hand into the dining area, a huge smile plastered all over her face "This is the farseer Al-men-al." She leant down and gave Simon a large hug "He's going to help you help me." She said before running off down the way she came.

"Um? What?" Wondered Simon out loud.

"I feel I must explain. River told me her situation and I can help." The farseer told them.

Kaylee beamed "That's amazin'. You're gonna cure River?" She asked excitedly.

The smile fell from his face "I am afraid I cannot cure her. Such damage to her brain is beyond my skill to heal, and you do not want to meet those who do have such skills."

"Why not?" Asked Simon nervously. He still wasn't entirely sure if he trusted this stranger, even if River apparently did.

"Suffice to say their methods of research are not morally justifiable, even in this instance." He paused for a moment. He looked down at the chair next to him, and then to the doorway that led to the bridge. Standing up he pulled the chair from the table, propping it up into a precarious position leaning against the door frame.

He sad back down and looked at Simon "I commend your efforts in this venture, but your sister needs help from people who understand her predicament."

Simon realised instantly what predicament he was referring to "You mean about her being a reader."

The farseer nodded "The reason she struggles to maintain a grip on reality is because she doesn't just 'see' our reality, she perceives it on an entirely different level. And as I'm sure you've already worked out, the reason she has such violent mood swings is because she doesn't just feel her own emotions, she feels all your emotions as well."

"How can you help?" Asked Kaylee, her voice full of hope for her friend.

"It is not me who will help her, it is my daughter." He answered to the confused looks of Kaylee and Simon "She will be a guest on your ship for the foreseeable future and she can help River."

"How?" Asked Simon warily.

"By training her to use her telepathy. As well as her other abilities, if they exist."

"Is your daughter a reader as well?" Asked Kaylee.

"All Eldar are psykers. So we all have to learn a measure of control at a young age."

"Psyker?" Asked an increasingly confused Kaylee. Simon just sat and stared.

"A psyker is a being who can change reality or perceive it on a higher level in some way. I believe your sister is only in the second category."

"Wait!" Shouted an exasperated Simon "So let me catch up. River is a psyker? So she needs training? All Eldar are psykers? So she needs an Eldar to train her? And her abilities might include more than just telepathy?"

"Correct."

"Abilities like what?"

"They are almost impossible to predict. I myself am not much of a reader as you put it, but I can predict the future quite well."

Simon burst into incredulous laughter "You can't expect me to believe that?"

Just at that moment Jayne walked into the room. Just as he did so the chair (Without any help from Jayne) fell from it position on the doorway, and fell straight into his path. Tripping over the chair Jayne went down like a sack of spuds. He stretched out his hand to stop his fall but it smashed into the table knocking over the small box of cookies (Freshly baked that morning by Kaylee), one of which rolled into the farseers waiting hand. Simon and Kaylee's mouths fell open as he took a small bit out of it.

"These are rather good." He commented, giving them a sly look. Despite the situation Kaylee still smiled at the compliment.

"I still don't entirely believe you." Simon told him "But if you can help me help River, I'm willing to give it a go."

"You have made the right decision Mr Tam." Said the farseer happily "I bid you goodbye. Mr Tam, Miss Frye." He gave a slight bow as he stood and turned to leave. Passing Jayne the unfinished cookie as he walked passed him. The mercenary took it and his frown seemed to lift.

"Who the hell was 'at?" He asked them.

**0**

_Almost half an hour later..._

Mal and Zoe walked back into Serenity's cargo hold, having hammered out all the details with Shar-seer on the way back there. Zoe called the whole crew down to fill them all in on the details. Inara, Jayne, Kaylee and Simon arrived in one block from the common area. But River failed to appear.

"Right." Mal began "I know there ain't exactly been an abundance of info about what's going on around here. But I can now tell you all what we been hired to do."

Mal paused for a moment and Zoe continued "They're askin us to get something for 'em."

"What?" Asked Jayne.

"Six gems and six swords." Answered Mal "Say they lost 'em on a core planet before humans set foot there. They only just found out they were here and now they want 'em back."

"Why don't they just get them themselves?" Asked Inara.

It was Zoe who answered this time "They'd have to send in an army, they don't want to do that so they're sendin' us instead."

"How are we suppose to find six specific gems in the whole 'verse." Asked Simon.

"They're sayin' they know they were all on Bernadette a couple days ago. They even got us a general area to look in. And the swords should be easy to find, 'parently they're made of crystal."

"How they payin us?" Asked Jayne.

Mal answered him by tossing him a small lump of clear material. Jayne held it up to the light with a disparaging look on his face.

Inara looked at it and gasped, covering her mouth she asked "Is that..."

"Yes." confirmed Mal "For those of you less educated. That's diamond." Mouths fell and eyebrows rose at the announcement. Mal proceeded to throw each of them an equally sized lump of uncut diamond. "That's part one of payment. We each get another when we hand over the goods."

"How much credit it all worth?" Asked Jayne.

Mal shrugged his shoulders "A lot."

"I still don't see how they expect us to find these specific gems." Piped in Simon.

"They're sendin' someone to help." Answered Mal reluctantly.

"Who?" Asked a number of crew members.

At that moment an Eldar stepped into the cargo hold from outside. Wearing the same plated armour that vaguely resembled the musculature of the wearer, it hugged close to her body over the curves that signified her gender. Beneath the dirt they could see it was a rich, bright yellow. Over the armour she wore a large, sleeved cloak which was coloured a deep, crisp azure. But that was also dirty, particularly towards the bottom edges. On her back she wore a leather pack that seemed to contain very little other than a bed-roll and some heavy, ovoid objects.

Slung over her left shoulder was a long grey rifle. It was elegantly shaped, like it had been sculpted by an artist rather than made by a gunsmith. Under her other arm was a tall helmet the same colour as her armour.

She herself was very pretty, or at least would have been if not for the fact she clearly hadn't washed in a number of days and a noticeable layer of grime marred her face. Her hair was tied back loosely with a leather cord. Every so often a stray strand of split and greasy hair would fall over her eyes clearly irritating her.

"Everyone this is Alleban." Introduced Mal "Alleban this is everyone." He glanced around "Except River, where is she?"

At that moment River and the farseer stepped into the cargo hold from the direction of the infirmary. River was showing him her sketchbook a large grin plastered on her face, he was smiling politely but genuinely as he looked over the picture she had drawn. A pink bunny with sharks teeth. River hung back while Al-men-al walked up to the group, Alleban bowed slightly while the rest of them exchanged nervous glances.

"Their is no need to be so nervous." He told them gently "I shall be leaving in a few moments. But first I have some words for each of you."

He walked up to each of them in turn. To Mal he said "Your instincts are correct. In the long run it will do more good than harm."

To Jayne "He didn't die for you, he died for them."

To Inara "To admit your feelings is not to admit defeat."

To River "No matter what you say or do, this is a family that will always love you."

To Simon "You are a doctor, not a magician."

To Kaylee "I recommend you invest in a crowbar."

To Zoe "Congratulations."

And finally to his daughter he said "If ever you wish to come home, you will find me with open arms." before pulling her into a tight embrace that was clearly meant as a goodbye. He pulled away and turned to leave the ship. But just as he was about to cross the threshold he turned back and said "Also. Have a very thorough wash." And them he left them.

The crew looked around at each other, they all seemed to have been profoundly touched by his words to them. Except Kaylee and Zoe who looked profoundly confused.

_Hundan_: Bastard

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